Klipsch iGroove SXT for iPod and iPhone - Klipsch iGroove SXT
Review

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These changes are all well and good, but there’s a potential sticking point in the price of the iGroove SXT. The iPhone-rejecting version could be had for around £90, but this system costs some £120. Alas for Klipsch, while the MSRP hasn’t changed since the first SXT launched, this model isn’t getting discounted by retailers as much as its predecessor.

Fortunately, Klipsch also tweaked the components within the SXT’s shell – hopefully for the better. The work certainly seems to have had the desired effect. Sure, there’s better sound quality to be had from more expensive systems but that’s precisely why those systems cost more. Unfortunately, high quality generally comes with a high price tag; even if the reverse isn’t strictly true. You’d have to be the most humbug-ridden of Scrooges to complain about the iGroove SXT’s output.

For a start there’s enough power to fill a decent-sized room comfortably; even with such demanding fodder as the Foo Fighter’s ‘One by One.’ Dave Grohl is, after all, hardly the most restrained of singers but the iGroove only started to struggle with his voice with the volume pushed right up. The rest of the time there was plenty of warmth and detail to be had and surprisingly defined stereo separation for such a small system.

The reproduction isn’t by any means perfect. Both cymbals and guitars have a tendency to end up muddied when there’s a lot going on and while the low end isn’t entirely lacking, it would ideally be fuller still. Switching genres just a little and giving JoJo’s excellent Leave (Get Out) a listen did little to change my mind. Again, there’s nothing to complain about per se; just a general sense that the rendition lacks that “je ne sais quoi” that sets the best speaker systems apart from the rest.

Like the iGroove SXT’s appearance, its sonic abilities are neither disappointing, nor outstanding. Its appeal or lack thereof is therefore more likely to come from the SXT’s use and placement rather than its outright performance. So if you’re in the market for a set of desktop speakers then the Sony SRS-GD50iP might be a better fit – combining as it does an iPod dock and a USB speaker system. If, however, you’re solely after a speaker dock to sit on a bedside table, it’s “advantage, iGroove SXT”, thanks to its compact dimensions. Furthermore, you’re money would be much better spent here than on the Altec Lansing inMotion Max system we looked at recently, certainly.

Verdict

The Klipsch iGroove SXT was fairly well received the first time around and there’s no denying that its updated self is an improvement. Alas, the increased price can’t be ignored, and might prove too much for some.